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GOOD AFTERNOON and welcome to my regular South West Surrey update No. 100. As of today, we have a total of 3,211,576 positive cases of COVID-19 with 84,767 confirmed deaths in the UK. There have been 4,383 confirmed cases in Waverley and sadly 135 confirmed deaths, with an estimated 1,274 active cases in Waverley. 2,639,309 have received their first dose of the vaccine and 428,232 have received both doses. All data is accurate as of 11am this morning.

GOOD NEWS AT LAST? Despite some grim figures overnight, the data from the past few days suggests we are starting to see a sustained fall in the number of new COVID cases (nationally and also in Surrey and Waverley) with hospital admissions declining for the first time in London and the South East. This could indicate that we have now passed the winter peak and that the Tier 4/lockdown measures are starting to work. So far nationally we have seen a 7% fall in the number of new cases, and we need a few more days to be certain but this is encouraging. Sir Patrick Vallance was very informative on the Peston show last night. ([link removed])

NOT SO FAST But both ministers and government scientists are clearly worried that the current lockdown measures may not go far enough with persistent rumours about tightening things up. We know bubbles will not go ([link removed]) and Chris Whitty sounded sceptical on the Today Programme about limiting outdoor interaction with one other person for another household which apparently Matt Hancock wanted. Most likely it seems to me is tightening of rules around mask-wearing and how many people are allowed in supermarkets. Let’s see.

BAN BRAZIL Today we are likely to see flights from Brazil and South America banned because of the ‘Brazilian strain’, something I asked Boris Johnson about yesterday ([link removed]) . It is particularly worrying because it comes from Manaus, the city where three quarters of the population have been infected - suggesting that it may have the potential to re-infect people who have already been infected. That said, there is currently no evidence it has reached the UK and there is good news today about the immunity conferred on people who have had the virus, which seems to be about the same as having the vaccine. ([link removed])

ANY QUESTIONS about what you can and can't do within the rules? Check out the most up to date guidance here ([link removed]) , but essentially use common sense. If you think you may be pushing the rules, you may well be breaking them.

VACCINE ROLLOUT The vaccine rollout, nationally and locally, is going well. You can read the government vaccine strategy here ([link removed]) . My mum did her journey to Epsom Racecourse to get her jab yesterday and said the whole thing was incredibly smooth, efficient and friendly (but will she forgive me for revealing she is over 80 by saying so?) You can see my update on the situation in Haslemere ([link removed]) where I know the local Primary Care Network are working around the clock to re-book appointments. I will be speaking to Surrey NHS boss Claire Fuller about this afternoon - and as soon as we can get supplies of the AZ vaccine hopefully St Christopher’s can be reopened. In Farnham all over 80's are expected to have received their first dose by the end of next week and all care home residents will have their first dose by the end of the
month. I talk about the rollout nationally in my Herald article this week ([link removed]) and yesterday on Facebook ([link removed]) I also talked about some of the concerns people are raising about local vaccine centres. I also asked Matt Hancock what can be done to set expectations better as GP surgeries are currently being flooded with calls. ([link removed])

The key number to remember for anyone with pandemic-related difficulties remains 0300 200 1008 the Surrey Helpline run by Surrey County Council (Mon-Fri 9 am to 5 pm).

WHAT’S GOING ON IN WESTMINSTER

FREE SCHOOL LUNCHES - AGAIN I think we are all pretty outraged by photos of meagre provisions on social media. I spoke on Tuesday with the Surrey County Council leadership and the schools minister about the situation. Schools in Surrey have the choice of giving families vouchers or providing food parcels – but because a lot of schools in the county are academy trusts the council can’t dictate which choice schools make. You can see the Surrey statement here. ([link removed]) The situation needs urgently solving but given the PM spoke to Marcus Rashford with lightning speed this doesn’t feel like an issue that will be allowed to drag on.

SOCIAL CARE REFORM STILL ON Surely the other big reform that must come in the wake of the pandemic is social care reform. Boris talked about solving the crisis when he arrived on the steps of Downing Street but since then public finances have been shot to pieces. I asked him whether his commitment still stood yesterday ([link removed]) and got an encouraging reply. But nothing less than the 10 year plan the NHS has will be enough if we are really treating the two systems equally.

NHS BURNOUT On Tuesday the Health Select Committee had a session on workforce burnout, focusing on NHS leadership, workplace culture and the experience of staff from BAME background. Chris Hopson, the Chief Executive of NHS Providers, stated that the current situation in our NHS on the frontline is 'incredibly serious’ ([link removed]) . Chris agreed with me that we need a ‘fully costed, long term, properly funded plan ([link removed]) on workforce numbers. We also heard from Helene Donnelly, a Mid Staffs whistle-blower, discussing bullying in the NHS. You can watch her powerful evidence here ([link removed]) .

MENTAL HEALTH REFORMS. It is a scandal that in England over 2,000 people with autism and learning disabilities are kept in locked facilities in sometimes shocking conditions. I therefore asked the Health Secretary to follow Italy’s lead and abolish these units to ensure that vulnerable people can be looked after more compassionately in the community as part of the reform of the Mental Capacity Act. Click here ([link removed]) to watch Matt Hancock’s moderately encouraging response.

PUBLISH THE STATS BORIS! Yesterday at the Liaison Committee I asked Boris why we can’t have better data on the vaccination programme. ([link removed]) At the moment we don’t even get told how many have been done in Waverley, even though this is surely the most important peacetime government operation in our lifetimes.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN SOUTH WEST SURREY

SUPERMARKETS ALERT I was hoping to update you on the situation at Sainsburys in Godalming where a number of staff caught the virus, but the manager was told she could not speak to me without a head office ‘minder’ which makes the chance of a frank conversation pretty minimal. I am sure they are doing all they can to contain the situation but of course the onus is on all of us to behave responsibly when we shop - which I am afraid does not always happen according to a police officer I met outside Tesco’s in Milford.

LOCAL HERO Congratulations to Thomas George for winning a South West Surrey Heroes Award. Thomas is the Executive Assistant and Leader of Rock Choir. Since the beginning of the pandemic back in March, the choir have delivered ‘Keep Britain Singing’ sessions to engage with the community. If you want to be involved, the sessions are accessible to anyone so feel free to join – the more the merrier! On Christmas Day over 6,000 people watched. The latest event can be viewed here ([link removed]) .

WAVERLEY LOCAL PLAN CONSULTATION If you want to express your views on the draft Local Plan Part 2, you have until 29 January 2021. The draft submission can be found here ([link removed]) . The plan covers planning applications and allocates sites for housing in Haslemere and Witley.

See my list of local groups working to support vulnerable residents here ([link removed]) .

THE ECONOMY AND JOBS

VISA BLAME GAME Following an unnamed EU source saying that the UK ‘rejected’ proposals for musicians to benefit from visa free access for musicians I was pleased to read an article ([link removed]) by the Culture Secretary which clearly explains that this was not the case, something backed up by the PM at the Liaison Committee yesterday. I am sure we will sort these things out over time, including the silliness of not being able to take a ham sandwich over the border - come on guys there is a pandemic on…

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

PASSWORD RESET Perhaps the single best example of why it’s vital you never forget your computer passwords - it could cost you £175 million. A torturous story of ([link removed]) one poor chap who has only two attempts left to remember his hard drive so he can access his bitcoin or lose them for good.

CENTENARY EMAIL FAREWELL to George Lawley, my trusty assistant who is moving to pastures new after helping me draft an extraordinary 100 of these emails. Thank you for doing a brilliant job George - and welcome to Raf who will be taking over helping me to do the research from next week.

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